Scope and Content Note:

The papers of John Frederick Kensett consist mostly of correspondence, 1832-1872, that depicts vividly his colorful career as an engraver and painter. They cover all phases of his career from his early years as a successful but discontented engraver, through the years of study in Europe, to fulfillment as an acclaimed member of the Hudson River School of Landscape Painters. Kensett corresponded with many well-known artists, writers, scholars, and publishers, whose letters provide a valuable perspective on the cultural and intellectual climate in the United States during the mid-nineteenth century. The letters are arranged alphabetically by correspondent. A list of correspondents is included at the end of this finding aid. The collection also includes three sketchbooks that provide insight into the thought process behind Kensett's finished works, a visual passport that records Kensett's movements throughout Europe from 1840 to1847, and papers relating to the art exhibit at the Metropolitan Fair in 1864.

Biographical Sketch:

John Frederick Kensett, painter and engraver, was born March 22, 1816 in Cheshire, Connecticut, the second son of Thomas and Elizabeth Daggett Kensett. His training as an engraver began probably around 1828, with a job in the New Haven engraving shop of his father and uncle, Alfred Daggett. At some point, possibly 1829, Kensett went to New York to work as an apprentice in the shop of Peter Maverick, a well-known engraver in America. Here he met John Casilaer, who also became a leading engraver and painter, and Kensett's life long friend. Later that same year, Kensett's father passed away, making it necessary to return to New Haven, where he rejoined his uncle's new engraving firm, Daggett, Himan and Company. In 1835, after a falling out with his uncle, he moved to New York, taking a job with the American Bank Note Company. He worked there for two years, during which time he formed a close friendship with Thomas P. Rossiter and Asher B. Durand. Kensett moved again in 1838 to Albany, New York, taking a job with the engraving firm of Hall, Packard, and Cushman. He left Albany in 1840, staying briefly in New York, then sailed to Europe, where he spent the next seven years in art studies.

Kensett became highly successful as an engraver during the years prior to his departure for Europe, yet he was not content with the work as it tended to be very tedious and too mundane. This is made very clear in his correspondence, which speaks of his desire for social gatherings, singing, talking, pretty women, cigars, and punch to ease the pains of frustration with his situation. He would also speak of his desire, on many occasions, to learn more about art, especially painting, a knowledge which could best be attained at that time by study in Europe.

When Kensett first arrived in England he immediately set off to meet his grandmother and Uncle John at Hampton Court. He also had taken time to visit the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square and other collections, where he compiled many notes. Moreover, he resumed the business of engraving for his American employer, work that was to support him for many years to come. Despite the pleasure and temptation of family and artistic attractions of London, Hampton Court, and Windsor, Kensett continued on to Paris. Here along with Casilaer and Rossiter, Kensett entered into an intense period of study and discovery.

Life in Paris had become less than ideal with the passage of time, as Kensett and his artist friends, Casilaer and Rossiter, along with two new companions, Benjamin Champney and Thomas Hicks, were constantly afflicted by financial problems. They would mutually lend money to each other when they had it, and borrow it when they had none. The letters composed by Kensett to his Uncle John at Hampton Court, during his first few months in Paris, concerned his difficulties and discomfort of poverty in addition to descriptions of his artistic endeavors. Sometime in 1842 Kensett's financial situation improved greatly through a friendship he had with William Francis Edmunds, a banker and amateur painter. It proved to be a vital link in his career as Edmunds was well connected with art sales and distribution organizations in the United States. Edmunds was a founder and officer of the American Art Union which purchased 48 of Kensett's pictures between 1841 and 1852. Without the financial boost provided by the sale of these pictures, Kensett probably would have been forced to return to New York without enjoying his extended stay in Italy.

In June 1843 Kensett went to Hampton Court to settle his grandmother's estate, an undertaking that developed into a two-year legal snarl. The extended stay in England proved to be quite beneficial in advancing his career. It was here he did his landscape of Windsor Castle, which was highly esteemed by art critics. In June 1845 Kensett departed London for Paris, where he remained briefly with Champney making a few sketching excursions. In July they traveled along the Rhine and across the Alps through Germany, Switzerland and Italy, arriving in Rome in October. Kensett took rooms with Thomas Hicks near the Piazza di Spagna. The following summer, 1846, he commenced a summer-long sketching journey through the hills and mountains surrounding Rome. He returned to Rome in October for the winter of 1846-1847, during which time he became a close friend to George William Curtis. This friendship opened a great door for Kensett, both intellectually and socially, as Curtis was well connected with some of the greatest American thinkers and writers of the time, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles A. Dana, Thomas Gold Appleton, James Russell Lowell and Charles Elliot Norton. Many of them became Kensett's friends and correspondents.

Kensett's last months in Italy were spent traveling south of Rome with Curtis, visiting Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento. After returning to Rome, they went on a month-long Italian tour via Florence and Venice, where for another month they took rooms. These days of work and discovery came to an end in September 1847, when Kensett left Curtis in Verona and returned, through Switzerland, to Paris, and then to London. Finally in November he went to New York after seven years' absence. Back in New York Kensett's life revolved wholly around his art and social activities. Devoted to his work, he produced a great number of landscape paintings. His social activities included memberships in several prestigious art clubs and organizations, such as the Century Association and the Sketch Club. More importantly, he was made a full academian in the National Academy of Design in May 1849.

In 1859, Kensett found himself thrust into the national political stage with an appointment by President James Buchanan, along with James Lambdin and Henry Kirke Brown, to a special commission on interior art and design of the United States Capitol Building. They made several recommendations that were submitted in a report to Congress that was ultimately rejected for political reasons. Kensett's last major lifetime endeavor was planning and organizing the art exhibit for the Metropolitan Fair, an event sponsored by the Union League Club to raise funds on behalf of the United States Sanitary Commission. Kensett passed away on December 14, 1872.

Box

Folder

Contents

1

0

Finding Aid

Correspondence, 1830-1872

1

1

A

2

Appleton, Thomas Gould

3

Ba

4

Br

5

Ca

6-7

Casilear, John

8

Ch

9

Champney, Benjamin

10

Co

11

Cr-Curtis, J.B.

12

Curtis, George William

13

D

14

E

2

1

Fa

2

Fi

3

G

4

Ha

5

Ho

6

I-J

7

K

8-8a

Kellogg, Sarah Kensett

9

Kensett, Frederick

10

Kensett, John R.

11

Kensett, Thomas Jr.

12

La

13

Le

14

Ma

15

Mi

3

1

N

2

O

3

P

4

R

5

Rossiter, Thomas P.

6

Sa

7

Sp

8

T

9

U-V

10

Wa

11

We

12

Letters - Unidentified

13

Drafts of Letters and Assorted Notes

14

Letters to Noah Kellogg

15

Kensett Family Correspondence (Not addressed to John F. Kensett)

4

1-3

Sketchbooks (3 items)

4

Passport to Europe, 1840

5

Metropolitan Fair, 1864

6

Invitations

7

Family History

8

Prints

9

Miscellaneous and Letter Fragments

10

Eulogies of John F. Kensett

Letters to John F. Kensett

MB/FM 759.147 K369 200-5747
(SC19480, Boxes 1-3)

Detailed List of Correspondents

Provenance Note:

These letters were microfilmed when the Kensett material was part of the Edwin D. Morgan Papers. The microfilm was made of the letters in boxes 31 and 32. (These numbers were the box numbers before Morgan was rehoused and Kensett removed).

Name

Year

Date(s)

Alexander, C.S.

1851

March 26

Alexander, Charles

1843
1848

October 16
September 18

Alexander, E.

1845

May 29

Anderson, James H.

1864
1864

March 12, 26
May 24

Anderson, Frank

1864

February 11

Appleton, Thomas Gold

4 undated letters, 16 partially dated:
December 25, March 20, September 9, March 31, July 25, February 5, February 27, July 15, January 14, January 7, March 10, February 18, December 22, December 5, November 6, September 23

1 undated letter
November 19, December 11
November 26
January 21, March 13, May 24
June 15
June 19
December 21
March 7, June 16, November 12, December 25
March 8, 22
March 27, May 13
April 13, May 19
October 28
December 22
March 25
July 10
June 18
May 15
February [?]

Kellogg, Joseph

1858

July 10

Kensett, Elizabeth (Elizabeth K. Vail)

[?]
1831
1832
1849
1850

1 undated letter
September 17
August 5
[?] 10
September 18
June 27

Kensett, Frederick

1807(?)

March 1, 29, June 1, August 1

Kensett, Frederick N.

1836
1837
1838
1839
1841
1842
1847
1849
1851
1853

December 22
August 10
October 6, 31, December 31
May 15
May 11
February 25
January 4, July 5
March 5, 18
May 9, August 19
December 20

Kensett, John R.

1822
1835
1840
1841
1848
1850

June 18
April 8
December 30
March 10
November 21
October 16

Kensett, Thomas

1851
1857
1864

February 21, May 23
July 30
March 28

King, Edward

[?]

March 30

Knapp, Charles M.

1854

June 19

Kuntze, Edward T.

1864

March 27

Lafarge, John

1863
1868

December 3
[?]

Lambdin, George

1859
1861
1863
1864
1869

1 undated letter
September 9, December 13
April 4
November 2
January 24
November 6, 20

Lambdin, J.R.

1859
1862

November 2, 15, December 15
June 13, December 11

Lang, [?]

1852

December 24

Lang, Louis

1859

August 17

Latrobe, John H.B.

1869

February 27

Lazarus, J.H.

1864

March 16

Leeds, Henry H. & Co.

1864

March 21

Lentze, E.

1857
1864

February 15
August 23

Lewis, Joseph J.

1864

March 17

Loop, Henry A.

1864

February 19

Lord, J. Couper

1863

April 8

Loring, George C.

1837
1838

July 19, August 3, 21
January 22

Low, Josiah O.

1867

May 13

McDonald, James R.

1864

March 9, 19

Macdonough, [?]

1824

July 9

McEntee, Jenis

1869

January 24

McFarlan, John

1864

[?] 20, August [?]

McMurdy, E.B.

1864

March [?]

Major, Maria T.

[?]

January 29

Mapes, Louise

[?]

April 17

Marquand, Henry G.

[?]
1863

June 27, November 3
August 22

Marshall, Sam

1823

July 6

Martin, H.D.

1 undated letter

May, Edward

1864

February 12

Mayer, F.B.

1858

June 30

Maynard, H.E.

1862

December 13

Meyer, James, Jr.

1864

February 26, March 2

Miles, John

1849
1850

May 8, 9
June 12

Miller, William R.

1864

March 7

Mills, E.S.

1864

March 14

Mooney, Edward

1864

March 21

Moore, Charles H.

1862
1864
1865
1866

February 3, March 12, April 14, 24, May 27, June 12
November 17
May 15
January 15, 19

Moore, N.A.

1864

February 15

Moore, W.H.H.

1864

April 22

Murray, Anna T.

[?]

December 26

Murray, Caroline

1864

January 28, February 2

Murray, John R.

1863

February 17

Nash, Catherine

1864

March 8, 17, April 28

Nast, Thomas

1864

February 1, March 2

Nichols, E.W.

1864

2 undated letters
February 13

Norton, C. Jane

1 undated letter

Norton, Charles E. (New England Intellectual)

1855
1858

January 26
November 8

Norton, Grace

1 undated letter

Newbury, Sarah

1806
1807
1809

October 25
March 1, May 2
April 30

Newbury, Thomas

1841

March 27

O'Brien, Fitz James

[?]

April 16

O'Brien, Robert

1864

February 15

Ogilvie, Clinton

1864

February 15

Olyphant, Robert M.

1856
1857
1859
1864
1867

September 26
August 5, 22, September 5
April 12, October 3
March 23, November 16
March 6

Ordway, Alfred

1858
1859

July 3, September 22
October 23

Owen, George

1864

February 11

Palmer, Erastus D.

1866

April 20

Parrott, George L.

1845

February 18

Parrott, W.

1 undated letter

Parsons, C.

1869

December 1

Patton, Thomas

1864

March 19

Peale, John T.

1 undated letter

Perkins, Charles C.

1856

May 24

Perkins, Granville

1864

February 13, March 25

Porter, D.

1823

November 13

Porter, P.A.

1857

February 26

Putnam, G.P.

1860

February 16

Pyne, R.L.

1864

February [?]

Rice, John S.

1855
1856
1863

August 26
May 25
December 25

Riggs, George W.

1863

May 28

Ritchie, Cornelia W.

1 undated letter

Ritchie, Monty

1858

June 26

Robinson, Thomas H.

1864

February 10

Rogers, John

1864

March 14

Rondel, F.

1864

February 10

Rossiter, Thomas Pritchard

1837
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1852
1853
1861
1864

July 25
October 10, 30
April 28, May 4
August 4, October 26, November 21, December 26
February 2, April 17, June 12, November 13
January 8, April 23
August 11, 24, September 26
June 26, September 26
February 9
September 2

Rothermel, P.F.

1847

June 24

Rutherford, Louis M.

[?]

May 17

Schell, Augustus

1852
1860

August 23
November 2

Sellstadt, L.G.

1864

October 29

Shankland, W.H.

1854

February 15

Shaughnessy, Stephen J.

1 undated letter

Shaw, Joshua

1844

April 2

Shepard, A.D.

1864

March 1

Shepard, Elliot F.

1864

March 26

Shepard-Vanderbilt

[?]

February 18

Sherman, C.A.

1864

May 18

Sherwood, M.E.W.

[?]

1 undated letter
June 16

Silliman, B., Jr.

1858

July 3

Sintzenick, Edward

1864

January 23, 28, March 12

Slosson, Edward

1849
1860

September 17
June 25

Smillie, James D.

1864

February 16

Smith, Adam R.

[?]

February 9, 11, March 4, 14, 15, April 3, December 8, 21

Smith, Thomas Lochlan

1864

February 8

Spafford, Eureka

[?]
1857

December 24
December 25

Staigg, Richard M.

[?]
1864

October 13
February 18

Stebbins, Alfred

1869
1870

August 3
February 16

Stephenson, Gen. S.

1864

January [?]

Stowell, James W.

1835

September 22

Sturges, Frederick

1857

November 3

Sturges, Mrs. J.

1 undated letter

Suydan, James A.

1858
1860
1861
1862

September 29
July 25, August 21
May 10
August 12, December 17

Swift, John H.

1864

September 30

Tait, Arthur Fitzwilliam

1864

February 9

Tait, John R.

1864

April 2, 25, May 2, 19, September 20

Taylor, Bayard

1866

November 9

Tibbits, H.B.

1864

March 24

Tiffany, George

1844

March 7

Tuckerman, H.T.

1862

March 5

Van Allen, J.H.

1 undated letter

Van Dulip, George M.

1862

February 17

Vanderlyn, John

1843

May 11, August [?]

Vernert, L. Job

1864

March 22

Voight, Lewis F.

1864

March 7, 12, May 8

Wadsworth, James J.

1852

June 11

Wallace, Thomas D.

1864

March 3

Walters, William T.

1858
1859
1860
1866

June 14, December 24, 31
June 12, November 28
January 19, April 23, May 9
June 19, July 23, February 23